Jay, the flamboyant creative director on ANTM who, for 10 years, aided all contestants on their shoots. Immediately Yaya runs up, barely aided by the photographer’s gentle persuasion. Our photographer looks up a hill, envisioning Yaya sitting atop a small bridge. She’s styled herself today, looking très cool-but not unapproachably so-in a ribbed white shirt and ripped acid wash jeans. We agree that the more low-key G-Star RAW sneakers she already has on are best. “Plain heels or blingy?” she asks as she holds up two different high-heeled pairs. We had spent the earlier part of our afternoon shooting photos there, in the park.
As we leave Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, she has friendly chatter with a man selling water on the street. Yaya greets me not with a handshake, but with a big hug. When I finally do, my presumptions crumble. Maybe I wanted to break down that wall, or maybe I wanted to see for myself, confirm what a reality show star is actually like. Other contestants on Top Model complained that it wasn’t easy getting to know her, that she always seemed to have a wall up. She can come off private and prickly, a bit of an ice queen. She was saved at elimination, but not before Tyra put Yaya in her place, telling her to go find the nearest bakery and eat a slice of humble pie.īefore our meeting, my idea of the “real Yaya DaCosta” was purely shaped by multiple viewings of America’s Next Top Model. Asked to simulate a Japanese commercial while eating umeboshi (Japanese pickled plum), Yaya was unable to fake her way through it, and spit the plum out in front of the judges. After winning a previous acting challenge that same episode-her fourth win in a row, much to the other contestants’ eye-rolling dismay-she almost lost it all due to a disrespectful gag. Yaya was only in the bottom two once during ANTM and in the ninth episode, which aired November 17, 2004, it was an acting challenge that got her there. Case in point: When petty drama broke out in the models’ house, she showed up wearing a shirt that said “RESPEITO”-“respect” in Portuguese, a language she speaks fluently-bilingually schooling the other contestants. Along the way, she performed exceptionally well, her ANTM persona marked by her Ivy League schooling: worldly, overachieving, and slightly snobbish, perhaps because she was too smart for your stereotypical model mold. In 2004, she competed on the third cycle of the Tyra Banks-hosted modeling reality show, eventually getting crowned runner-up. For Cycle 20, Guess sponsored with a US$100,000 ad campaign for the winner.Yaya DaCosta had a near-perfect streak on America’s Next Top Model, but there was one screw-up that almost got her eliminated. For Cycle 19, shoe retailer Nine West and Smashbox sponsored with campaigns, but the cosmetics sponsorship has ended. Through Cycles 3-18, CoverGirl replaced Sephora as the continuation on products and prizes.
For Cycle 2, Sephora replaced Revlon as the commercial sponsor. To view the contestants that have appeared on America's Next Top Model, click here.įor Cycle 1, Revlon sponsored this show with the products and prizes. However Banks later returned the following cycle. Cycle 23 was the first cycle to not feature Banks on the panel, as she was replaced by Rita Ora.
The most drastic change occurred when the series was revived in 2016. Most cycles featured Tyra Banks as the head judge, alongside varying line-ups of other judges. The series employs a panel of judges who critique contestants' progress throughout the competition. To view the cycle guide for "America's Next Top Model", click here. Makeovers are administered to contestants early in the season (usually after the first or second elimination in the finals) and a trip to an international destination is scheduled about two-thirds of the way through the season. Contestants are judged weekly on their overall appearance, participation in challenges, and best shot from that week's photo shoot each episode, one contestant is eliminated, though in rare cases a double elimination or non-elimination was given by consensus of the judging panel. Each season of America's Next Top Model has from 9–16 episodes and starts with 10–16 contestants.